The Boy and The Wolf
by IDon'tSleepTooGood
Summary: Young Alfred is scared of the dark and needs a bedtime story to fall asleep, so on a whim, Arthur starts to read him the tale of Little Red Riding Hood to help him off to sleep, that is if Alfred would stop interupting him. (America x Britain)
1. Prolouge

**I've always found myself coming up with good story ideas late at night when I'm in bed, but never able to crawl out of bed and actually write them down somewhere for myself in the morning, so then the idea becomes hazed and mashed up with other ideas I try to remember over a cup of tea. This is one of those ideas. Enjoy~!**

_"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy is a man who is afraid of the light" - Plato_

Prolouge

It had been an hour past sunset since the two young boys had sat themselves with their arms folded over their knees, side by side in the grassy field just outside their house. They were both sharing an ebony blanket for warmth as green grasshoppers bounced through the long dark grass that was dripping wet from the rain that had fallen that afternoon during dinner.

Neither boy had much to say to the other as they watched the starry night sky with intrigue, their warm breaths misting in the cold night air and pairs of mismatchd eyes blinking at the sight of the large half Moon that hung in the black sky.

"Arthur." The smallest boy said, making the tallest boy's ears prick at the sound of his name.

The messy haired blonde sighed before turning his head to him. "What is it Alfred?" He asked, a little annoyed.

The boy named Alfred shuffled on his patch of grass and twuddled his thumbs nervously. "I'm scared" He muttered, looking towards his big brother for comfort.

The Brit half smirked. "Come here" He gestured with his hands. The little boy instantly scrambled to his side, tucking his head under the blondes arm in hopes of being cuddled or cradled. "What on Earth is making you act so cowardly tonight Alfred?" Arthur exclaimed, his own head houndedly looking from left to right above the long dark grass, making his hair rugged and his cheeks turn pink in the frosty wind. "There's not a buffalo in this field, I made sure of that." He tried to assure his little brother, who was busy wriggling in his trowsers trying to bury his head into the Brit's side.

"I don't like it!" The American squirmed under his dufflecoat hood.

Arthur swooped the boy up and sat him on his knee to cradle him like he wanted. "You don't like what, Alfred?" He asked a little sternly, the boy now hiding his face in Arthur's brown waistcoat.

"The dark!" He muffled through the cotton fabric, still wriggling like a pillbug under a rock. "It's too scarey, I wanna go back to the house!" He complained, hiding his teary blue eyes. "It's cold, I wanna go to bed and I want you to read me a bedtime story!" Alfred demanded quite childishly, even for his age.

Arthur hummed to himself in thought, then sighed deeply. "I really am spoiling you arn't I?" He asked himself aloud, pulling his little brother above his arms and carrying him as he stood up, causing the ebony blanket to fall like a cloak over his back. "Let's go home" He smiled, beginning their short walk through the woods and back to the house.

_"Since when did you get to be so heavy Alfred?" _The Brit thought to himself as he carried the boy.

After preparing some hot milk and honey for himself and Alfred, Arthur walked his little brother to his bedroom door. "I'll open it!" Alfred said heroicly, realising it would be difficult for his brother to open it with a mug in either hand.

Arthur chuckled quickly at his little brother's sudden change of mood now he was somewhere bright. "Thank you Alfred" He said, walking into the bedroom.

When he entered, Alfred had thrown off his hooded dufflecoat and perched himself in the centre of his heap of pillows on the bed, his legs under the blankets, and a big smile on his face. "You really are quite predictable arn't you?" He teased, this being the routine every night he was with Alfred.

Once he'd placed their mugs down at the bedside table, Arthur quickly started the process of lighting a candle that stood on the cabinet, and scrolling his hand over the small library he'd built into the wall of the boy's bedroom.

A majority of the oldest books were about things his little brother needn't know about. Things such as war or piratism, all things mainly revolving around his own history. There was one book he owned however that wasn't about about history at all, but was still very old and worn, so Arthur pulled it out of the tightly packed shelf and sat himself down on the bed next to his little brother to read it.

_"Little Red Riding Hood" _Arthur read off the books golden cover before opening it. "_Not so long ago, there lived in a small town that nestled next to the-_ Alfred are you even listening?" Arthur asked, noticing his little brother was twidling his thumbs again.

Alfred quickly stopped. "Yes, I am" He smiled cheekily.

"Right..." Arthur whispered, finding where he'd just read. "Ah, _a small town that nestled next to a large dark forest, that many of the villigers were scared to visit. A girl however, who lived in the village and always wore a red-_ Alfred what the bloody hell are you doing?" Arthur stopped yet again, realising his little brother was now climbing over his legs.

"Can you pass me my milk?" He asked sheepishly, pointing to the bedside table.

Arthur took a mug and handed it took him carefully. "Here...now, where was I?" He asked himself, feeling a little irritated by all these interuptions. "Ah-ha!" He exclaimed triumphantly. _"Always wore a Red Hood and was thusly called by the villigers Little Red Riding Hood, decided to go out into the dark forest to visit her Grandmother, who had fallen - _Alfred what now!?" Arthur growled moodily at his little brother, who was tugging at his sleeve. "I'm finished" He smiled, turning his mug upside down. Arthur looked a little bewildered at how fast he'd drunk it all, but reluctantly put the mug back on the side and tried to find his last sentance for the third time running. _"Who had fallen ill, and needing caring for. So Little Red Riding Hood filled a basket full of muffins and covered it with a blanket before setting out into the dark forest alone. Once in the forest, she admired all the beautiful flowers that were growing there, taking her time to smell every kind she could see, but as she began to smell a red rose that stood away from the other flowers, a mysterious figure spoke from behind a nearby tree stump. "Little Girl, what is your name?" The voice asked in a hound-like snarl. "My name is- _

"Alfred the Hero!" The Boy answered for the fictional girl, quite loudly.

"Alfred you are unnerving me!" The Brit yelled at how he was being interupted yet again. He exhailed stressfully. "Perhaps _The Boy who cried Wolf _would have been more suitalbe" He laughed, placing the book down on the side and facing his little brother, who had shyed away from him. "Alfred, what's wrong?" He asked, now a lot more sincearly.

The boy only sniffed in response, making Arthur realising what an idiot he was. "Alfred...I'm sorry I shouted at you...I shouldn't have lost my temper like that" He admitted, scooting a little closer to his now little ball of a brother. "Do you want me to leave?" He asked.

The boy shook his head. "Do you want me to finish the book?" The boy nodded, so Arthur placed an arm around him and picked up the book again. _"My name is Little Red Riding Hood" _Arthur read in a girlish voice, making Alfred giggle at him. _"What are you doing in the dark forest Little Hood, it's dangerous out here for little boys and girls?" The snarling voice asked the girl, who smiled lightly in response. "I'm going to visit my Grandmother Mister, she lives in a cottage not far from here" She explained, blinking her bright blue eyes prettily. When she was done telling her story, the figure emerged from behind the tree stump. It was a large wolf, cloaked in black, with big brows and paws and rugged hair, and a pair of dark green eyes like olives-"_

"Like you Arthur!" Alfred exclaimed, his fickle mood having changed back to a cheerful one.

The Brit was quite confused by this remark. "What do you mean like me?" He asked quizically, trying to find some resemblence between himself, and the black dog that was inked on the parchment page.

The boy placed his finger on a line on the page. _"Dark green eyes like olives, _see?" He teased, before crossing his arms conclusivly, similar to how he'd seen Arthur act when arguing with Francis.

"Olives?" Arthur exclaimed. No one had ever said his eyes looked remotely like olives before, but he decided just to shrug it off and carry on reading. _"The wolf was licking his lips and sniffing with his large nose. "What have you got in that basket Little Hood?" He asked nosily. "Why, muffins for my Grandmother" She said politely to the stranger. The wolf gave a cunning smile. "You should be careful with them Little Hood, or else someone might steal them from you" And with that, the wolf had disappeared back behind the wooden tree stump and deep into the bushes. Little Red Riding Hood was alone yet again, and seeing it was going to be dark soon, decided to make her way to her Grandmother's..." _

It wasn't long before Arthur yawned widely, having finally reached the last page, or at least...where the last page should have been "Shit..." Arthur whispered very quietly, so Alfred wouldn't hear him.

It had appeared that someone had ripped out the last page, possibly just to spite the next owner. It made sense though, considering his history, Arthur knew this children's book was likely one he'd stolen from a shipwreck off Prussia cove.

_"Maybe he's sleeping already? It's not like he'd notice if I left" _The blonde thought to himself, beginning to slip away from the middle of the bed. He had to make his way over to Austria the next morning, so needed some rest.

Although the boy's eyes were closed shut, he was still half awake and listening to his big brother, but realising he was going to leave, Alfred stirred. "Did they all live happily ever after Arthur...Little Red Riding Hood...and her Grandma...and the Woodcutter?" He asked tiredly with closed eyes. Arthur smiled lightly. "Yeah, they all lived happily ever after" He pretended to read, before shutting the book and stepping off the side of the bed, feeling like he'd done a pretty cunning job of convincing his little brother.

"And the Wolf..did he live happily ever after too?" Alfred asked worrisomely, this time his own light blue eyes were open slightly and watching Arthur's dark green ones as they watched over him from the shaddows, reflecting the flame of the candlelight. "Yeah, even the theiving Wolf" Arther lied, before picking up the candle on the bedside cabinet, and blowing it smoothly out before dissapearing behind the wooden door.

To Be Continued...maybe?

**Aww, I think? If you met me you'd know that feels are not my expertise in and out of writing, but there's no harm in trying I suppose. Review/Follows/Faverites/Questions or anything of the sort are all much appreciated, I hope you liked it.**


	2. Leaving America

**(My apologies for the late update. I wasn't planning on carrying on this story at first, but after finding new ideas that could extend it I decided to do so. Please leave a review if you like, I don't mind questions either. Enjoy.)**

Chapter two; Leaving America

_"His leaving had been like snipping off the end of a rope - leaving two unravelling ends" - Sarah Blakely Cartwright _

As the sun began to rise over the modest manor house it's light leapt through the white curtains of little Alfred's bedroom, it stirred the child into consciousness, making him rub his eyes and yawn widely. Doing so, the Boy caught sight of a pot mug still on his bedside table and he suddenly remembered what day it was today. "Mister Arthur!" He yelled out to the household, tossing the bed blankets aside in a flurry and letting his bare feet stamp on the wooden floorboards of the room. "Arthur!" He repeated direly, instantly scurrying to the window and pulling himself up to stare through it at nose height.

The sun was just up. He can't have left yet! Alfred heard something from the corridor bump and sprang towards the door, taking his brown waistcoat from the end of the bed and putting it on over his white night shirt. "Arthur, don't go!" The little blonde yelped, his feet now pounding on the dark red carpets of the second floor. As the boy reached the middle of the floor, he found himself at the top of the enormous staircase that greeted the houses entrance room along with blue and white decorative walls and vases of flowers and large bookshelves. "Arthur!"

As expected, the British man was standing close to the door and was buttoning up a a brown overcoat. His green eyes met Alfred's wearily once he'd turned towards the stairwell and looked upwards just under the shandelier. His eyes were quickly lowered as the young man ran down the stairs, stopping as he stood just next to Arthur, his bright blue eyes becoming teary. "Please don't leave me here again Mister Arthur, I swear I'll be good, I swear!" He cried, desperately tugging at the Brit's coat like heart strings. "This house is so big and I can't stand being in here all on my own, I need you here to protect me from all those big scary countries!"

As Alfred contined his pleading the Brit did his best to remain sturdy, as not to set a bad example to the child by breaking down just like one. "Now now, don't you cry" Here hushed, but seeing it had little effect Arthur tried another method, which began by pulling from his pocket, a decorative piece of golden cloth he had embroided, but planned on using as a handkerchief on the way to Austria. "Crying all over my clothing won't do any good, try _this_ instead" He smiled, placing it between both of the American's small hands.

With curiosity, Alfred opened up the little yellow cloth revealing it's own masterpiece. The golden Pentagram star caught his eyes first, but we're hastily joined by many over smaller stars placed around it.

"I have another just like it at home, in London, Alfred" Arthur explained, leaning down beside the tearful child. "I'll bring it with me when I go to Austria, and carry it around in my pocket" He gestured his left breast with a smile. "That way, no matter how far apart we may be, we can always look at the stars together, even in the daytime"

"Please don't go..." Alfred muttered. Beginning to hate the way Arthur would uproot himself so often from his life.

But just like that it seemed, Arthur stood upright yet again, took his suitcase from off the ground, hugged Alfred's tiny body goodbye, and vanished out of the boy's life yet again, uncertain of when, or if, he would return to see how much he'd grown up.

London was defiantly not the way Arthur had left it. The streets were still teeming with the likes of noblemen and vagabonds, but they were now joined by Anglo-Indian nomads that lacked a sense of anything over than being treated like the Royals, despite having not done anything significant upon returning to their homeland. As for the religious types, they were still in the age old British argument of Catholic versus Protestant, only now this fight was more fury raged than before with the poor foreigners spreading Hinduism in the east end. Oh, there really was no place like London anymore. Whatever Arthur had returned to was surely not _his_ Capital anymore! But with a remenicant smile, the man was content to find The Towers were still very much the same.

"Mister Kirkland, are you and the men heading off tonight?" Howard asked his boss, after greeting him at the Tower's secret front entrance. Howard, like his father before him, was Arthur's assistant and accompanied him on many of the Nation's escapades. But due to his uncharacteristically British sea-sickness, Howard refused to accompany Arthur to America, or anywhere else further than Europe.

The blonde shook his head. "To head off now and arrive before dawn would prove disadvantageous. We should head off tommorow morning and make camp for the next day so we can fight in the afternoon" Arhur smirked strategically, exited that he'd get to beat up Francis once again.

"Of course Sir, I will inform the Captain l-" Howard was cut off.

"No need, he's informed" The Brit confirmed, handing the ebony haired man his coat and stepping inside the circular stone room.

"You mean..." Howard mumbled.

Arthur nodded, putting his foot on the first of many stairs. "I shall act as Captain in this battle and the next" He said sternly, with hard eyes. "If France believes raising America has softened me than I shall prove him deadly wrong first hand, that is all I intend to do" The Brit stated, leaving Howard alone to think his words over.

It was cold words like that that scared little Alfred, especially when they came from the Brit who was so caring towards him. Cold words that felt like lashing rain that washed through you unavoidably. Cold words that could rip at heart strings that took years to sow, yet only seconds unthread beyond repair.

Cold words that waited in the back of the boys mind as He pulled on his riding hood and escaped the lonely modest manor house and into the starry night. Waiting for the destined time that they would do their worst, and bring an end that could never be left behind by Arthur...

_To be continued._

**(Thank you for reading chapter two. France is going to be starring in the next one, and Austria too, so fans of those two please keep an eye out for my updates. Later.)**


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